Field of the Invention
This invention relates to blood sampling devices of the type which employs a sharp tip or needle to obtain a small sample of blood for testing purposes.
Description of the Related Art
Known blood sampling devices employ a spring or the like which forces a needle tip into the skin following triggering of the device. Embodiments of this invention are concerned with improving the safety of such devices to reduce the risk of accidental triggering where a manually actuated trigger is employed. In addition it is known from eg our own earlier WO2005/013825 to provide a needle cap which is removable prior to use of the device. However, in some instances, if a user does not follow the written and visual instructions to twist the cap off they may force the cap off in a way that causes the device to malfunction.
W02007/050528 discloses a single use lancing device having a removable cap that prevents the lancet from being moved to a puncture position 15 before the cap is removed. After removal of the cap the device is fired by depressing a firing button which pushes the lancet forward to force protrusions on the lancet past cantilevered heads on the housing thereafter to be driven forwards.